SourceHOUSTON, TEXAS, July 25, 2004: Kedar Thakkar took a two-month vacation from his desk job so he could get to work — carting stone, sweeping away construction debris and slogging through heat and rain. The 30-year-old software developer made the trade to help build a monument to his Hindu faith in Fort Bend County. “This is the one thing that…
SourceBALI, INDONESIA, July 23, 2004: Thousands of locals and foreign tourists will flock to the mountain resort town of Ubud this weekend for one of Bali’s largest royal cremations this century. After weeks of preparation, Hindu high priests will tomorrow fire an arrow into the heart of an ornate dragon to free the soul of Tjokorda Istri Niyang Muter, the…
SourceCOLOMBO, SRI LANKA, July 23, 2004: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has said all responsible for the July 1983 ethnic riots that sparked off a civil war in the country must apologize if the country is to move forward, Xinhua reports. “We should apologize to each other. There should be a public apology. It is only then that we can…
SourceRAIPUR, INDIA, July 23, 2004: The RSS, India’s largest social service organization, is reportedly reconsidering the rule that forbids pracharaks, those dedicating their life to work for the organization, from having familial ties. The rule effectively prevents pracharaks from getting married. The Sangh is worried because the recruitment level of swayamsevaks is falling. And the fact that a group of…
New Straits TimesLONDON, ENGLAND, July 23, 2004: The Home Secretary, Rt. Hon. David Blunkett, MP, has announced today that with effect from 31 August 2004 a new legislation will come into force that will allow work permits to be granted only to Ministers of Religion who can provide a certificate of English competency up to a minimum level 4 under…
Straits TimesKUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, July 21, 2004: A Hindu woman has been granted day-to-day custody of her two sons who had been converted to Islam by their father after he embraced the religion. The father, Dr. Jeyaganesh C. Mogarajah, 36, was given joint legal custody and visitation rights, but the High Court ruled that his estranged wife Shamala Sathiyaseelan, 32,…
SourceNAGPUR, INDIA, July 22, 2004: Nagpur girl Vandana Joshi has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records with flying colors with the prestigious book recognizing a rangoli made by her as the largest one of its kind in the globe. Guinness World Records, the publishers of the records book, have issued a certificate recognizing a 466 square metre…
SourceKARACHI, PAKISTAN, July 20, 2004: Hindu traders will suspend their businesses across Sindh and go on hunger strike if Santosh Kumar, a prominent Hindu who has been kidnapped, is not recovered immediately. Speaking at a news conference here on Monday, Bhagwandas Chawla, president of the Karachi Hindu Panchayat and a former MNA, said the kidnapping of members of the Hindu…
Toronto SunTORONTO, CANADA, July 18, 2004: The Hindu community is celebrating the opening of the first phase of a massive temple being built in Toronto. Thousands of Indo-Canadians have been marking the week with celebrations surrounding the opening of Phase I of the Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir — a 7,989- square-metre structure called the Haveli. “It’s one of those things…
Chaturbhuj N. Gidwani, Hindu Lay Leader, U.S. Army, Camp Foster Chapel, Okinawa, JapanJuly 22, 2004: The purpose of this article is to inform all American religious organizations that the Department of Defense Directive (DODD) Number 1304.19 of June 11, 2004 has been reissued with update policy and responsibilities and is effective immediately. This update continues the educational and ecclesiastical requirements…